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The man, from the Camborne and Redruth area, cannot be identified for legal reasons, to avoid revealing the identities of his victims. He denied but was found guilty of five counts of rape, 11 of indecent of sexual assault, one of wounding and 14 of child cruelty.

The judge told him: “This is the story of lost childhoods and also a story of the most sadistic and wicked abuse that it is almost possible to imagine a man could visit on children.

“You have entirely destroyed the lives of these children, as is clear from their victim personal statements and the evidence which they were forced to give by your pleas of not guilty. Not only did you make their lives unutterably miserable, but you also visited violence on your long-suffering wife.

“The acts of child cruelty came against a background of routine verbal and physical abuse. The aggravating features are sadism, threats and concealment from others. It was hateful and extreme abuse.

“You raped your own daughter. There was every aggravating feature conceivable in this offence apart from the fact that you did not make her pregnant, and that was only because of her age. You degraded her and used the background of violence and threats to silence her. You abused every element of trust. The personal statements of all the victims in this case make hideous and harrowing reading.

“The children universally described you a manipulative sadist. Well, you're not going to manipulate this court. You did these wicked things over all those years. Now you must pay the price."

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During the trial the jury heard how the children were beaten and abused regularly over a 22-year period. He also attacked his wife so savagely that she was permanently disfigured and then ordered the children to clean up the blood from his bedroom.

The defendant, who claims to be suffering from a neurological disorder, did not attend most of the trial and remained either in prison or in the cells. He did not give evidence and after his conviction the judge revealed to the jury that medical reports cast serious doubt on the severity of his illness and suggest he is faking many of his symptoms.

Malcolm Clark, defending, asked the judge to take into account his client's medical difficulties and the fact that he had no previous convictions for sexual offending.